FABIAN Delph has been advised to modify his game to kickstart his Aston Villa career after setbacks in training prevented him from playing a part in the survival run-in.

Delph was hoping to be involved in the final fixtures of the campaign after making an earlier-than-expected recovery from the ankle surgery he underwent in February.

But the 22-year-old midfielder will be held back until he is completely fit next season after continuing to feel soreness with the joint on the training pitches.

Delph started the season as a first-team regular at Villa but has not played for them since December and got injured on loan at former club Leeds three months ago.

“When I saw Delphy get back in training with the group a few weeks ago, he was as sharp and as powerful as I’ve seen him,” said McLeish.

“He’s fought back well. He’s a determined boy. He’s been through some bad injuries and he’s really worked hard to get himself to this level.

“We do need to try to be careful with him but you try to get the evidence from the training. I know that it’s not a real marker in terms of the real thing but he has trained well, even in practice matches.

“He was close to making the bench and we considered whether he could he be a starter.

“But, again, it’s these wee niggles. One day he’s fine and the next day he’ll train and feel it pounding again, so it’s a wee bit of maintenance in the summer.

“I don’t envisage he’ll be involved until next season now.”

McLeish believes tough-tackling Delph might need to adapt his style of play slightly to avoid the constant injuries caused by his combative approach.

“I think he needs a lucky break,” said McLeish. “He’s had serious injuries.

‘‘He’s quite a dogged character, he’ll make challenges, he’s frightened of nothing and sometimes that can maybe work against him.

“But he’s maturing and as he gets older he’ll hopefully be able to gauge how he approaches things.

“He’s had some traumatic years. He came here as a big potential star and it’s a big weight on a young guy’s shoulders with expectation levels.

“The Premier League has not seen the best of him yet. I saw him towards the end of last season and I thought he played some good games in vital Villa victories.”

McLeish had high hopes for Delph at the beginning of the season and started him in the first eight Premier League matches before his form and fitness dipped.

“I saw him in the summer when I first joined as he was doing a fitness programme,” said McLeish.

“When I first looked at the midfield I thought ‘well, where’s the creativity in there’?

“I knew Stan Petrov was a dynamic kind of forward-playing midfielder but I wasn’t really aware of Delph’s real qualities.

“I was told he was more of a dynamic player and when he was doing his programme in the summer I said to him ‘hopefully you will be able to save us a fortune’ but he’s since had some bad luck.

“But, mentally, coming back to training ahead of schedule should help him and that’s a very important part of it if it helps his thinking.”